WOw it must be awful to wait for everything in Australia. I'm writing my thesis on a very modern thing and I hate waiting for the books to come out here! I guess I know a little bit how you feel but wow, my sympathies.

And a big hug to Lanaii. I'm really sorry, but please post here if you need us, we are here for you!!

Hey, i've missed a couple days worth of posts. I got called into work monday, 12hrs, and yesterday, 10hrs . and i spent all day today cleaning my house--my husband isn't the best Mr. Mom, but he's trying. He hasn't been working much lately, besides snow plowing-- he does tree work and this is his slow season.

thanks for the advice dip and mrsjim. i'm a little worried i won't be motivated to work out at home. it IS a hard decision. i think i'm gonna talk to the gym owner and see if i can save some money paying a lump sum upfront instead of monthly payments. who knows
i hear people raving about Tidey's banana smoothie. it sounds great but i thought bananas were a no no cause they're high in carbs
-E

I had a grrrrrrreat workout this afternoon.... Worked arms and shoulders... Did shoulders à la Mel hitting all sides... Boy you sure feel pumped after that one girls! I was supposed to do 60 mins of cardio, but could only fit in 50, because of time... but that's ok... it's the most I've ever done...

Other than that not too darn much...

Later...

p.s.: were we all careful out there today LWL?

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Falling down is not failure....Failure is staying down.

Elasky -- Bananas send me into binge mode, does something with my blood sugar or something, I CANNOT eat just one... it's gotta be 2 or 3... so I steer very clear from them... and YES they are very high in sugar...IMO...

Had a great leg workout today, increased all my weights and really felt it too.. thought i was going to blow chunks during my last 2 reps of squatting

food is dead on for me (amazing!). I find that im not having trouble keeping my carbs slightly lower these days at all! woohoo! Im not "low carbing" or anything, but I like to keep them around 100g a day if possible.

Bananas for me are a staple food, and dont bring on bingeing or carb cravings, pasta and bread, on the other hand, are eeeeevil (but strangely whole wheat pasta is exactly the opposite.. i have trouble finishing my meal!). I dont know about others here, but I find that when I dont eat fruit I start feeling a bit sluggish and my digestion gets out of whack.. probably because I used to eat so much while growing up... i could easily give up most other foods in favor of fruit lol

So as with all things, your triggers might not be the same as other peoples. I love bananas They have vitamins, and keep me full for a long time. Plus they taste fantastic (I think hehe).

No cardio for me today (didnt have time after legs) and I feel almost like it was a day off LOL Ive been doing so much cardio lately that Im getting tired of it pretty quickly.. the results sure are there tho!

Dip, hows the job hunt goin?

HI to everyone, and hope you all have great days!

Tidey

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Warning: Dates in Calendar are closer than they appear.

Thanks everyone for the advice on the cardio. I do usually go to the gym by 630 am everyday or else around 8 if I do not have to work (sleep in day). If I go after work it is too crowded and I cannot use any of the equipment (small gym for a small town).

So I really need to do my cardio and weight training on the same visit. Not a problem if it is upper body day but I was concerned about the lower body thing. You see I also have to work every other saturday and sunday and on that day my gym is only open from 8-5. Well i work from 8-8, even if I am off early i only get out by 630 so not enough time to get my cardio in. So one weekend I can do a Saturday cardio session, I take Sunday as my day of rest always. So I was really wanting to up my cardio to the Mon-Fri thing to help with the loss of Sat, and then the following week I would get Sat in as well. Anyway i guess I got a little long winded there....

So I guess I will just have to try it out and see how it goes, I definitely need a boost with the workouts.

What is the cook book everyone is talking about, the recipes sound delicious, are they low fat etc?

The workouts this week have been wonderful, did a great leg workout this morning, really worked by quads, abs are still feeling it from yesterday, and I am looking forward to measure. I think I will do it Sat morning cause it is my free day and I do not want to be bloated for the photo and measure thing.
Bye for now ladies, see you tomorrow.......

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"Ultimately there is nothing to prove to anyone but yourself" ~ Oprah

Jen,
The cookbook is Eating for Life, by Bill Phillips, the author of the Body for Life plan. From what I've seen, the recipes are right around 40/40/20 in terms of protein, carbs and fat content.
Cindy

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Incorporating WW, BFL and Zumba to take control of my fitness destiny!

Jen -- I hope you're going to post those pics at our MSN site ... I must say I never wanted to post mine, but now that I have I feel quite accountable to everyone! I also have them on my background (to my D's discust ) and everytime I log on it's a rude reminder!!
Here's the link:http://groups.msn.com/3FCLadiesWhoLift

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Falling down is not failure....Failure is staying down.

Okay, so y'all chat SO much about your workouts - I mean specifics about your workouts. You're always asking who's doing what on their upper body day and what are you doing different on your leg day. I just kinda sat her picking my nose thinking, "Man, this is just weird." Then, today, I'm doing my free weights and my trainer brings me in this great book of all sorts of exercises you can do with free weights and I sit for a minute trying to digest it all, try a few new moves that I like and it finally strikes me,
"I wonder what (Meg, Ilene, Dipthing, Merilis, etc) do?" I think I'm addicted.

Other fun news, two new girls at my school gym saw me working out and asked me for help getting them set up on the eliptical machines - I felt so good!

Yep, I like to read what everybody else is doing too because you have to 'mix it up' from time to time. It's too easy for me to stay in the same routine. I like the muscle magazines for new ideas and try a new exercise each week for the fun of it. Right now, I'm trying to get the gumption to try the work-out on Tidey's AB BOOT CAMP link. It's from the BFL people.

Yesterday was legs, and I'm not feeling it so much in my quads as I am in my glutes. My Pilates DVD's arrived, and today I will start to practice and then take on a regular program starting Monday. Long and lean, although foreign appeals to me!

Going to the gym tonight with DIL2b for a class and to drop off my application. I cleaned off my car yesterday and went to the grocery store. I discovered I can go out in the cold and snow. See! I'm not such a wimp. LOL. Actually, I don't have a coat or jacket warm enough for this weather, and didn't want to buy one til next year. I cruised the sales last week and found nothing appealing, even as a hold over.
So with a hooded sweatshirt which is too big, under my old sailing jacket, which is too big, I bundled up and went to the store. I must admit that I was warm enough in the loose layers.

Mr. Scale and I are still having our differences, and it appears I'm not going to make my goal for this month, since tomorrow is EOM weigh-in. And February is an extended short month. But I'm still hopeful that the fat fairy will come along over night and magically suck out 2 #. Or maybe even just 1#. I'll be sure to pep up and extend the cardio this morning.

And speaking of cardio, let me say tata for now, and get it on. Check back later!

Everyone sounds one fire these days Need to be, just to stay warm. I've been jumping on some cardio equipment at home or at the gym between appointments, just so I don't freeze. Not to do real cardio, but sitting still without turning up the heat to bankruptcy levels is tough.

Elasky- I don't eat bananas either. Way too high in sugar for me, they send me into sugar cravings. Just goes to show that you have to learn your own body and what makes it tick. Tidey's recipes sound yummy, but I haven't tried most of them because bananas, potatos, and even whole wheat pasta send me round the bend.

Dip- You're doing great! I hate to break the news, but there does come a time when the weight loss starts to slow down. You've been going great guns! 2 pounds a week is ambitious over such an extended length of time. Don't worry if you miss it by 1/2 a pound some weeks. You've got less to lose now, and it takes more effort to shake it free. IMO, you really don't want to get your body dependent on hours of cardio in addition to lifting. Meg may disagree here, but I think it's just as important to develope a sustainable lifestyle as to get the weight off asap. If you start doing an hour of cardio, that's what your body's going to require for maintenance, too. And that does get old on a "forever" basis.

Goddess Jessica- Isn't it fun when someone asks YOU a question? For me that was a big turning point in the gym. Going from being the onw who was always watching and asking, to the one with at least a few answers. I'm still watching and asking too. One thing I've learned is that no matter how much you think you know, as with anything, there's always more to learn.

Ilene- How are the shoulders today? Mine are sore from Tuesday, then I did back and bi's yesterday which really killed them off. This may not be the best split ever devised.

Hope the northerners and mid-westerners survived the past few days. It's cold here, but we didn't get dumped on again last night!!! Down-unders, enjoy summer and send some warming thoughts our way

Mel

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Falling down is not failure....Failure is staying down.Save the Earth, it's the only planet with chocolate and wine.

It isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.